


Beloved misfit

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Chapter 2 contains the most angst, Drama, F/M, Flashes of insecurity, Happy Ending, Lemon, M/M, Mean parents-in-law, Mpreg, Slash, So prepare for heaviness in that chapter, a lot of it, birthday fic, bottomHarry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2018-02-09 13:32:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1984794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some people have the good fortune to have nice parents-in-law. Others are more unfortunate. Harry Potter, sadly, belonged to the last category.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LilMxPlagueRat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilMxPlagueRat/gifts).



> Author's note: This is a oneshot dedicated to LilMxPlagueRat, because it's her birthday today! Happy birthday, sweetie!
> 
> Also, like the previous two birthday fics, this one will have two parts, because it's becoming quite long *coughs* I really should learn how to keep to a limit ...
> 
> Anyway, here is part 1 and part 2 will most likely appear next Saturday :)
> 
> Warnings: slash; angst; some drama; MPreg (plus the birth happens here, though the actual birth giving part isn't explicit); a bit AU; disapproving Narcissa and Lucius. I think that's it for this chapter
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling owns it
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

_Part 1_

"I need to talk to Jacques Lière about his potion's supplies," twenty-four year old Draco Malfoy murmured in the ear of his spouse of two years. "Are you going to be fine on your own for a while?" His fingers briefly skidded over the other one's hand.

His husband, Harry Potter, threw him a tight smile; his deep green eyes glancing around the ballroom in apprehension. "Yeah, sure, no problem," Harry mumbled with a shrug.

Cool lips brushed over his cheek. "After this, we'll return to Grimmauld Place." Having said that, the blond haired potions distributor strode over to a man standing a couple of feet away and who was clad in maroon coloured robes.

Dispassionately Harry saw how Draco caught the man's attention immediately after joining the small group and the two men started talking animatedly; laughter reaching Harry after someone replied to whatever Draco had said.

Fingers tightening around the glass with ice cold mountain water, Harry tore his eyes away from the scene and tried to make himself inconspicuously by sitting down on the broad windowsill in one of the many small niches.

 _Return to Grimmauld Place_. Not home; Grimmauld Place. It would never be home for Draco, even with them being married now.

Feeling the familiar bitterness rearing its ugly head, Harry took a large sip; hoping the cold water would soothe the tight ball of resentment.

Why was he even here? He could have stayed home; maybe visit Hermione, but instead had let Draco convince him to attend a party where he knew no one and of which the main conversation topics revolved around potions or the latest rumours about the Ministry or a Pureblood event. Neither one was something that interested him. And despite the fact that he was now one of the strongest wizards alive (due to him killing Voldemort and Dumbledore being dead), nobody at these gatherings was willing to engage him in a conversation, simply because of his blood status.

Even though he realized their prissy attitude shouldn't bother him, he hated feeling like a pariah in these events.

Glancing around, he caught the ice blue eyes of a dark blond witch who he assumed was from the Greengrass family. Her eyes trailed over his hunched form – briefly pausing at his mid-section – and her lips pulled up in a mocking smile; the look in her eyes clearly conveying her disdain for him. He barely hid the wince that run through his body and he casted his eyes downwards and mentally urged Draco to get to the bloody point, so they could leave. He loathed the way Purebloods kept skirting around the issue, instead of getting to the bloody point immediately.

"Mister Potter."

Hearing the greeting being issued in a familiar soft spoken voice made him freeze momentarily and he counted to ten underneath his breath, before he looked up and turned his head, seeing – as expected – a light blonde woman with light blue eyes gazing at him. Narcissa Malfoy.

"Good evening, Mrs Malfoy," he replied in what he hoped was a neutral voice.

Her long gown – which was a very pale green – rustled softly when she stepped closer.

"We didn't expect you to attend tonight," she said, glancing at his stomach where his robe could no longer hide his growing bulge. "My son told us about your … fainting spell," she continued delicately, though her eyes were cool instead of worried.

Harry felt his cheeks heat up in shame. Yesterday he had been so focused on one of his new cases that he had neglected to eat for almost the entire day. His body had protested and when he had been changing his robes for more comfortable clothing, he had felt light in his head. The next moment he had found himself lying crumpled on the carpeted floor of the bedroom. Kreacher had popped in and with one snap of his crooked fingers, Harry had been levitated on the bed. While Harry had cast a diagnostic charm to make sure the fall hadn't been harmful, Kreacher had alerted Draco. The following hour had been composed of Draco fussing about him and scolding him.

Being subjected to Narcissa's cold gaze made him wish Draco had kept silent about the whole ordeal. As if she – or Lucius – needed more reasons to disapprove of him.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, well, I'm feeling better now. Draco asked me to accompany him tonight, so I did."

"One does wonder why my son wanted you here, when I don't recall you ever expressing an interest in either potions or gossip," she smiled blandly. "Then again, I suppose it is in your best interest to go along with his whims. Men like Draco can be difficult when it comes to keeping their attention."

Like every other time, Harry didn't have a clue as to what to respond to Narcissa's poisonous barbs.

"I, I need to go to the restroom; excuse me," he muttered, rising up and placing the glass on the windowsill.

"Of course." She inclined her head. "Be careful; experiencing a fainting spell here could end in disaster."

Not even bothering to glance at her, he quickly walked past her and – ignoring the eyes that seemed to burn in the back of his head – left the ballroom, taking a deep breath once the doors fell shut behind him, cutting off the chatter and leaving him in silence.

Every time. Every time she spoke to him, she had to insult him. What would it take for her and her husband to finally accept him as their son-in-law? If anyone was allowed to have a grudge, it was Draco because of their animosity during their school years. And yet the blond had forgiven him and had accepted Harry's hand in friendship when he had offered it.

It wasn't even that he had coerced or forced Draco to have a relationship with him. It had been Draco who had initiated the first kiss; it had been Draco who had asked him out on their first date and it had been Draco who had asked him to marry him.

Harry had even gone out of his way to make sure the Malfoys didn't receive any punishment for their supposed actions during the war. Narcissa and Draco had never actively participated in the war and Lucius had held himself neutral (why he had done that was something Harry still hadn't figured out). But because of Lucius' former involvement with Voldemort during the first war, the Ministry had decided the whole family was guilty of conspiring against the Wizarding world, aiding Voldemort and murdering Muggles. It was only thanks to Harry testifying on their behalf that the Ministry had reluctantly given up on persecuting the Malfoys.

One would think that that little fact at least ought to have placed Harry in their good graces.

But no; whatever Harry did, nothing was good enough. All he got for his efforts were subtle insults and sneers. Of course they were smart enough not to act like that in the vicinity of their son. And that's why Harry had kept quiet about the way the couple treated him: there was no way he could prove that they were less than nice to him. He had known from the moment he had become friends with Draco that the blond held his family in high esteem and he didn't tolerate any bad talk about them.

Harry sighed and leant against the wall. From his spot he had a great view of the large garden and he stared at the flowers bathing in the light of the full moon while his thoughts went back to the first insult issued by Narcissa and Lucius four years ago when Draco had introduced him officially as his boyfriend.

" _Mother, Father, I have something to tell you."_

_From his spot behind the half closed door, twenty year old Harry Potter fidgeted nervously, awaiting his cue. His boyfriend of nearly a year, Draco Malfoy, had decided to inform his parents about their relationship. While Harry was ecstatic about it, because it showed that Draco was serious about them, he was also very nervous. He didn't have a clue as to what Purebloods thought about homosexuality and only having met Narcissa and Lucius in the Ministry during their trial, he didn't know whether they would accept the fact that their son was gay or not._

_He hoped to Merlin that they would accept the situation, because he didn't want to leave Draco. In the eleven months he was together with the blond, he had developed feelings that went beyond a simple attraction; something he didn't think he would ever experience after the disastrous break-up with Ginny._

" _What do you need to tell us, son?" Lucius asked and if Harry wasn't mistaken the older man sounded apprehensively._

" _I have fallen in love with someone."_

_It was silent for a moment._

" _Oh?" Narcissa sounded curious. "That's good to hear, Draco. Who is the lucky lady?"_

" _Man."_

" _Excuse me?"_

" _It's a man I've fallen in love with."_

" _You've fallen in love with a man?" Lucius repeated and his voice had cooled a bit, making Harry wince._

" _Yes. I realize this isn't exactly the life you have envisioned for me, but I'm happy with him, Father. He is intelligent, witty, handsome, quite powerful … He's a far better match than any woman you would present to me," Draco stated confidently._

_It was silent again, but this time Harry had a feeling that an unspoken conversation was going on and he tugged at his jacket again. Was this a good or a bad sign?_

" _Well, we've always said that we want you to be happy, son," Narcissa spoke up slowly. "And if you're certain that this man can make you happy, then I suppose we can't object to that, right, darling?"_

" _Are you still courting the man?"_

" _No, we're together for almost a year now."_

" _Almost a year?" Narcissa sounded shocked. "Darling, why didn't you inform us about this sooner?"_

" _We were still getting used to our relationship. It hasn't been an easy eleven months, because we didn't want the public to know about it, before we're ready to tell them." Harry was already quite familiar with Draco's gestures and manner of speech and so he could easily envision that that reply went together with a casual shrug._

" _The public. Draco, son, who is this man that has snared your attention?" Lucius asked suspiciously._

" _Harry Potter."_

" _I beg your pardon; Harry Potter? You've been seeing Harry Potter for the past eleven months?" Narcissa exclaimed shocked and Harry winced. The way she uttered his name didn't sound exactly favourably._

" _Yes; we became friends shortly after the war ended and over the course of three years our feelings developed until I asked him out and he agreed," Draco replied casually._

" _I see," Lucius murmured. "Will we meet him … officially soon?"_

" _Yes; as a matter of fact, you can meet him now, as he is standing in the hallway waiting for permission to enter," Draco answered rather smugly._

_Heavy silence reigned for a couple of seconds, before Narcissa broke it. "Well then, I suppose it is time that we meet officially."_

_Footsteps neared the door and Harry hastily straightened his back, trying one last time to flatten his hair, which proved to be futile. Brushing off imaginary lint of his jacket, he looked up when the door opened wider and Draco appeared before him with a smile gracing his lips._

" _Ready?" the blond asked and brushed his hand against Harry's wrist._

_The younger man swallowed and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess."_

" _You'll do fine; just be yourself," Draco whispered and then intertwined their fingers and pulled him forwards._

_He could barely keep himself from stumbling when he entered the room and his heart started to beat quicker. A quick look around him made him assume that they were in some sort of private library. A couple of bookcases, filled to the brim with thick, old tomes, were placed on either side of the room, with a third wall containing a large fireplace, completely built out of marble. One window between two bookcases let the sun cast its rays in the room._

_Narcissa and Lucius were seated on two separate armchairs while a tray with two wine glasses floated between them. Right across of them, a small couch was placed with two lacy pillows on each side._

_They rose from their seats when Draco brought Harry in front of the couch._

" _Mister Potter, it is nice to finally meet you officially," Narcissa smiled coolly and Lucius offered a single nod._

_Harry couldn't help but notice that they both didn't offer their hand to shake. He gave the couple a small smile, determined to leave a good impression despite their history. "Good afternoon, Mister and Mrs Malfoy."_

_Narcissa and Lucius sat down and Draco tugged softly at this hand, urging him to take a seat as well. They sunk down on the couch and even though the couch was very comfortable, Harry couldn't relax; he hoped he didn't look as tense as he felt._

_They passed the time with some small talk and questions like where they had met again and who pursued who until Draco was called away by a house elf to deal with a pesky owl that didn't want to let go of a letter._

_The second their son stepped out of the room and closed the door, the temperature in the room seemed to drop and Harry resisted the urge to fidget._

" _I have to admit, Mister Potter, that I'm surprised," Narcissa spoke up with a thin smile and slightly narrowed eyes. "Out of all his options, Draco chose you – remarkable, isn't it?"_

_Lucius smiled coldly. "My son always had peculiar interests," he murmured lightly._

_Harry's eyes widened and he felt out of place. What could he say in response? What he had been worried about, turned out to be true: the Malfoys weren't happy with the choice their son made. Was it because of their history? Had he screwed up somehow during the small talk?_

_Harry was saved from further awkward silence when Draco entered the room again with a letter loosely held in his hand._

_The conversation was picked up again and slowly shifted to Draco's studies with an occasional question aimed at Harry, who felt more out of place than before._

_This wouldn't be the last time that the Malfoys let their disdain of Harry known to him._

Throughout four years of having Lucius and Narcissa as his parents-in-law, he had never heard one good comment aimed at him out of their mouths. Oh, they were full of praise of his job as a Curse breaker with Draco in earshot, but as soon as he found himself alone with them, they didn't waste a chance to tell him through cold smiles, even colder eyes and snide remarks just how much of a bad choice they thought he was. When Draco had asked him to marry him on his birthday – which had been held in the Malfoy garden – Harry had almost expected the couple to dissuade Draco from asking him.

But of course, public appearances had to be kept and it wouldn't look good if they rejected having Harry as their official son-in-law, now would it?

He snorted in dismay and shook his head. It was only because he loved Draco so much – more than he thought he was capable of – that he hadn't said something about their behaviour. To whom would he complain? To them directly? All it would do, was give them pleasure in knowing they were making him miserable. Tell Draco? The man adored his parents and he probably wouldn't want to hear that they were capable of acting nasty.

He could vent to his friends, but all that would do was bring more tension between them and the Malfoy family.

No, he was on his own for this. But maybe, maybe they would ease up on their snide remarks in four months.

His hand dipped down to caress his stomach. He pressed two fingers down and was rewarded by a slight kick, causing a smile to bloom on his face.

"Maybe you'll be able to soften up your grandparents, hm?" he whispered and patted his stomach.

"Ah, here you are." Draco looked at him curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to go to the bathroom," Harry lied and pushed himself off the wall.

"You look tired," Draco murmured and reached out with his hand to caress Harry's cheek. "I think it's time we return to Grimmauld Place."

"Sounds good," Harry smiled wanly and one snap of Draco's fingers brought a house elf to them, holding their cloaks in his wrinkly hands.

"Thank you," Harry muttered and let Draco help him put his cloak on; he would have liked to do it on his own, but Draco had been rather fussy since he had fainted.

They said their goodbyes to Draco's parents – Harry steadfastly ignoring their heavy eyes – and used the disk that would transport them to the entrance hall of Grimmauld Place, as Flooing or Apparating was out of the question for Harry now.

Grimmauld Place had undergone a true transformation during the time Harry had started living there. Gone were the dust, the Doxies, cobwebs, cursed objects and even the painting of Sirius' mother; the walls had been repainted in lighter colours, the lights had been repaired, and rooms had been reorganized. No longer was there a heavy, dreary, dark atmosphere clouding the house; instead it had turned into a rather comfortable, inviting home.

After a long period of hesitation, Harry had eventually decided to make Sirius' room his bedroom; that way he still had the feeling that he was close to his godfather and when he had started dating Draco, the blond man hadn't made a fuss about it. After two years of dating, he even had his own laboratory in the attic.

"You want to take a bath?" Draco raised an eyebrow and he placed the Travel Disk on a small shelf.

Harry shook his head. "Nah, I'm taking a shower tomorrow morning," he replied and shrugged off the cloak.

"Suit yourself." Draco shrugged. "I'm going to take a quick shower and then I'll join you in bed."

Harry nodded and made his way to their bedroom, while Draco disappeared into a room at the end of the hallway.

With a weary sigh, Harry started to undress himself, letting his clothes pool on the ground while he slid into a worn out shirt and some sweatpants. He padded in the bathroom and steam was clouding up the mirror coming from Draco's shower. He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face and then went back to slip into the bed. He laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling.

According to the Malfoy tradition, when the heir married, he and his spouse were expected to live in Malfoy Manor together with the parents of the heir. The new couple would have a wing for themselves, so they would not have to interact with the parents if they didn't feel like it. Draco had always been fond of following the traditions, but this was one tradition Harry had refused to participate in. It wasn't Gryffindor like, but he wanted to avoid confrontation with Lucius and Narcissa as much as possible. If he lived in the manor, who knew how much snide remarks he would have to endure then? He dreaded every meeting he had with them – living with them in one manor would just give them more fuel.

Draco hadn't liked it that he had put his foot down on that tradition. It had been one of their few big fights, leading to an icy silence for a week before the blond caved and said he wouldn't mind to continue living in Grimmauld Place. In exchange for that concession, Harry had had to agree to wear the thin bracelet with the Malfoy crest branded upon it.

Wearing a thin bracelet was a small sacrifice for not living together with his parents-in-law and Harry had eagerly agreed to that deal.

But of course even with this deal, Draco would never consider Grimmauld Place as his real home …

The door opened with a soft creaking sound and Harry turned his head sideways to look at his husband, who was still only wearing a towel around his hips.

Draco bent down and riffled through the top drawer; he shook out a pair of grey sweatpants and after hanging out the towel to dry on a chair, he pulled on the sweatpants and stepped in the bed. Immediately he turned around and pulled Harry in his arms, so that his head came to rest on a pale shoulder. The scent of honey soap entered Harry's nose and he slid an arm around Draco's naked waist.

"I'm sorry for taking so long with Lière," Draco murmured and absentmindedly started to stroke Harry's stomach. "The man had a whole spiel about his business going, before I managed to interrupt him."

Harry shrugged with one shoulder. "Doesn't really matter," he muttered against pale skin.

He could feel grey eyes looking at him. "I know you weren't particularly interested in this party."

"I don't really mind," Harry sighed, wishing Draco would drop the conversation. "And I survived it, no?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Draco, I'm fine. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Harry answered irritated. "I just forgot to eat lunch, that's all. I'll be more careful from now on."

"Be sure you are, because otherwise I or someone else will check up on you during the day," Draco warned him.

"I don't need a baby-sitter," Harry huffed and looked up to scowl.

"Harry, I'm just worried about you. I don't want anything to happen to you two," Draco answered solemnly and dropped a kiss on Harry's forehead.

"You think I want something bad to happen? I just got caught up in a case; I'll make sure to set an alarm now in case I get another difficult one," Harry said, in the hope that that would placate his lover.

"About that – don't you think it's time you put a stop to your work? Curse breaking isn't exactly a safe job," Draco added and momentarily tightened his grip.

His fingers twitched and he sighed. "I'll lower my work amount, but I can only stop completely once I find someone to take over for a while."

"Maybe you can ask mother for help. I'm sure she'll be happy to ask around for you," Draco suggested.

Harry had to remind himself that yelling out a loud 'NO WAY IN HELL' would not go over well and would open up a can of worms he'd rather keep closed. Instead he replied flatly, "No, thank you. I already have some people in mind; I just need to contact them and ask."

"Well, just make sure you don't wait too long with that," Draco muttered and sounded slightly disapproving. "When is your next check-up?"

Harry drew his arm back and laid it right above his swelling stomach. "Snape said he had a free afternoon next week," he replied and yawned.

"Let me know when so that I can go with you."

Harry nodded and after kissing each other good night, they fell asleep.

* * *

"You're certain he knows how late he was supposed to be here?" Snape inquired and raised an eyebrow.

Harry was seated on the couch in the living room while Snape had taken to sit on the only armchair available in the room.

"Yes, I reminded him about it this morning," Harry replied with a sigh and rubbed his neck. "He's probably running a bit late."

Snape was the one who had create the male fertility potion for Harry to use. After examining Harry, he had refused at first. The damage done to his body during the war and his job as Curse Breaker had made it rather difficult for his body to handle a pregnancy. It wasn't too dangerous, but there were still risks that had to be taken into account, such as making sure his magic wasn't too out of control. His magic was needed to sustain the pregnancy, so if it went out of balance, it was disastrous for the baby and it could even start to attack him. That was why regular check-ups were needed; in his case, he needed a check-up every two weeks to make sure he was progressing normally.

Because his magic and the damage to his body proved a risk, Snape hadn't wanted to help him at first. It was only after weeks of Harry pestering him through multiple owls and Floo calls that the man had caved.

In return for receiving the potion, Harry had to promise he would subject himself to biweekly check-ups without any complaint. And because Snape didn't trust any Saint Mungos Healer to do a thorough job, he had begrudgingly offered to perform all the check-ups.

Draco had been ecstatic the moment Harry had told him that Snape was willing to brew the potion and despite Snape's demands, he had never told his husband just how dangerous the pregnancy could be. If Draco knew the risks, there was a big chance he would have forbidden Harry to take the potion and that was something Harry had wanted to avoid. Draco had let him know in the beginning of their friendship that he wished to be a father one day and because Harry himself had a children wish, he wanted to give Draco this chance.

Draco didn't know that Harry was examined biweekly; he was led to believe that there was only one check-up every month and Harry wanted to keep it that way. There was no need to worry Draco needlessly.

Snape, however, had a completely different opinion about it.

"Have you told him?" Snape asked in a neutral voice.

Harry scowled. "No, of course not."

"Don't you think he deserves to know how dangerous this can be?"

"Can be," Harry pointed out sweetly. "It doesn't mean it will be. And so far nothing bad has happened. There is no need to make him worry about something that probably won't happen."

"He's your husband and the father of your child," Snape remarked and his dark eyes glittered. "If anyone deserves to know the complete truth, it's him."

"It would be stupid to make him worried about nothing," Harry repeated stubbornly and crossed his arms. "I'll be fine and this baby will be fine."

"Let's hope you're right about that," Snape murmured and their conversation died out once they heard footsteps nearing them.

"Sorry I'm late!" Draco sounded frazzled and he dumped his cloak on the table. "There was a mishap with a potion and I barely stopped it from blowing up the cauldron."

Snape snorted. "Just sit down, so that I can start."

While Draco looked almost in awe at the screen displaying their baby moving, Harry ignored Snape's meaningful glance and merely enjoyed the sight of seeing his baby healthy.

* * *

Four months later, it became clear once again just how much Narcissa disliked her son-in-law.

It was a cold afternoon in late January. Draco had left that morning for a meeting with his father's associates. He had been reluctant to go, because Harry was nearing his due date – only five days left – and it was only after Harry had urged him to go, reassuring him he would be fine on his own for a day, that the blond had left with a promise to come back as soon as possible.

After handing over his cases to Dean and Charlie three months ago, he had been occupying himself by ordering furniture for the nursery and today he was planning on looking through catalogues to figure out what kind of design he wanted on the walls. It was the only thing left to do to finish up the nursery and Draco had given him free reign about it.

Throughout the entire morning he had suffered through cramps, but he didn't think much of it. He had been feeling those cramps before and it turned out to be false alarm every time.

However, right after he had placed the catalogues on the kitchen table, a sharp pain – as if a knife was slashing through his stomach – made him double up with a low groan, his fingers clenched tightly on the edge of the table.

"Shit," he cursed when he felt something wet dripping down his legs.

Of course the baby had decided to come out today.

"You just couldn't wait a few more days, huh?" he mumbled and slowly straightened out. So the cramps hadn't been as innocent as he thought they were. He sighed and placed a hand on his stomach, which felt hard to the touch.

Grimacing, he tried to remember where the business meeting was taking place. He needed to contact Draco immediately. The father had to be there during the labour to share his magic; otherwise it could go very wrong. It had something to do with the fact that the womb was practically feeding on his magic and to a lesser part that of Draco's as well. While Harry's magic would work on getting the baby safely out of his body, Draco's magic would keep him stabilized.

He also needed to ingest a potion, but for that he would need to contact Snape. The man would also help him deliver the baby and he could already imagine how awkward that would be. But he had known about that fact when he had been given the male fertility potion, so he had no right to complain about that now.

"All right, first I need to contact Draco," he muttered and turned around. He had to lean against the doorpost for a minute when a new contraction hit him.

As soon as he had caught his breath, he made his way to the fireplace, of which the only use was making Floo calls. Once he had a pinch of Floo powder between his fingers – ready to throw it in the fire – he suddenly realised that he didn't know where Draco was. He couldn't recall whether his husband had told him the exact location and he cursed. How the hell was he supposed to contact him without knowing his whereabouts?

He remembered that Lucius had accompanied Draco to the meeting and he bit his lip. Narcissa would probably know where her husband had gone to, but he didn't want to ask her help. He could already imagine her sneering about the fact that he didn't even know where his own husband was and he could do without her poisonous jabs.

He felt his baby moving faintly and knew he had no other choice. He would have to contact Narcissa and ask her where Draco was. He wasn't about to risk his baby, just because he didn't want to deal with his mother-in-law.

He dragged the only chair in the small room to the front of the fireplace and sat down on it. Taking a deep breath, he threw the powder in the fire after hesitating for a few more seconds and waited until the fire turned from a bright red yellow to a deep grass green.

"Malfoy Manor," he said clearly and leant forwards a little. His hands clenched around his knees and he gritted his teeth when he was assaulted by another contraction.

"Is there a reason why you are calling this late?" Narcissa regarded him with cold eyes, raising an eyebrow when she saw how hunched Harry was sitting.

"Do you know where Draco is? More specifically where the meeting takes place? I need to call him," Harry said and tried to keep his breathing even.

"I know where he is, yes, but I doubt your Floo would be able to make contact with that building. It isn't known by many people, you know," she smiled coolly, seeming to imply that he would never be able to contact the building because he wasn't part of that world.

Snapping at her wouldn't help his case, so he gritted his teeth instead and said, "Can you please contact him and tell him the baby is coming?"

She gave him a condescending smile. "Will do."

Before Harry could say anything else, she closed off the Floo and he sunk back into the chair. He could only hope that her dislike for him wouldn't stretch out to being harmful for his baby.

Slowly he stood up and walked out of the room, only to enter a different room further down the hallway. The room was the closest to the centre of the house and that made it the ideal place to give birth. The centre of the house contained the most magic and that would help during the birthing process. Earlier in his pregnancy, Draco had ordered a bed for the room and a screen separated the room, creating a space for a small bathroom where the baby could be cleaned. A pile of towels on a small round table was waiting to be used.

Slowly pacing back and forth – Hermione had ensured him it would make the birthing process easier – he kept track of the time between each contraction. So far there was an half hour between each one and as long as that time didn't grow shorter before Draco arrived, there was no need to worry.

* * *

Two hours later, there was still no trace of Draco. Not even a Floo call or a Patronus to let him know he would be later. The time between the contractions had shortened to twenty minutes apart and he was currently sitting down on the bed before he became too dizzy from the pacing back and forth.

Where was Draco?

He took a shuddering breath and tried to relax. He needed to call Snape; the potion had to be taken in when his contractions were around fifteen minutes apart in order for it to completely work.

Rubbing a hand over his stomach, he stood up again and walked over to a small shelf next to the bed. A small, white button with a dark spot in the middle had been spelled to act as some sort of alarm. As soon as Harry would touch it and say the password, the button would start to glow and a button on Snape's robe would start to produce thrilling sounds, letting the man know he was needed to help with the baby. Harry was only allowed to use the button if he was certain he was in labour, because Snape would immediately appear with the right potion.

He took it and murmured, "Phoenix."

A soft white glow emitted from the button and he threw it back on the shelf. Not even a minute later, he heard the Floo in the other room activating and familiar footsteps making their way to the room where he was.

Snape appeared in the doorway and studied him. "How much time between each one?"

"Almost fifteen minutes now," Harry replied and forced himself to keep breathing through the next contraction.

The Potions Master nodded and handed Harry the vial, who drank it with a grimace. He would never understand why all potions had to taste nasty.

Dark eyes roomed across the room. "Where's Draco?"

Harry gave him the vial and sighed. "I don't know. He had to attend a meeting today with his father, but I don't know where exactly." He stood up and started walking back and forth again. "I Floo called his mother and she said she would contact them."

"When did you call her?"

"Almost three hours ago," he muttered.

"And calling him takes that long?" Snape remarked sceptically.

Harry didn't answer; he had no desire to tell the older man how the relationship between him and Narcissa was.

"You know he needs to be here soon; you're already pushing it by being alone at this stage," Snape admonished him and busied himself with placing some towels strategically on the bed.

"Don't you think I know that?" Harry couldn't help but snap. He was in pain; he was starting to feel sore; sweat was coating his neck in a light sheen and he wanted to have this baby out of him _now_.

He sought support by the wall when another contraction hit him; this one felt even worse than the former one. His magic was humming around him and he groaned when he felt the potion starting to work; his fingers clenched against the wall at the same time the muscles in his stomach contracted.

"Sit down," Snape ordered, ignoring Harry's earlier snappy remark. He guided the heavy breathing man to the bed.

As soon as Harry sank down on the bed, he pressed both hands on his stomach, rubbing it firmly, trying to ignore how tense the muscles in his back became.

"I'm surprised Draco left you on your own today," Snape commented casually and leant against the wall, his wand gripped loosely between his fingers.

"I told him I would be fine. I didn't think the baby would arrive today," Harry answered petulantly.

"Due days are only an estimation. You shouldn't have convinced him to attend that meeting," Snape said sharply and glared.

Harry glared back. "It's not my fault that the baby decided to – AH!" He was cut off abruptly by a searing pain in his lower stomach. One of his hands shot out and clenched into the bed sheet, trying to ground himself through the burning pain.

When he opened his eyes again, Snape was standing right in front of him with a hand pressing against his stomach.

"Ten minutes apart," Snape announced and stepped back.

"He'll be here on time," Harry muttered weakly and tried to regulate his breathing.

Snape snorted softly. "I hope for your sake you're right."

The contractions seemed to last longer and even though the time didn't shorten, it felt like he didn't get enough time to take a deep breath. He was rocking back and forth now, trying to relieve the pain through that. He would have asked for something against the pain, but Snape had warned him earlier on that no Pain Relief potion would work.

"Breathe slower, Potter. Hyperventilating won't help you," Snape barked and he forced himself to listen to the older man, tried to keep his breathing regular.

Another contraction slammed in him like a wave and he couldn't keep a groan contained. This was starting to feel like pure hell and he wished it would just stop.

Through the burning pain, he felt two cool hands helping him lay down on the bed and his trousers dissolved around him, leaving his lower half bare.

A sharp intake made him open his eyes reluctantly after the last twinge of pain disappeared, leaving his body trembling in its after wake.

"We can no longer wait for Draco," Snape spoke grimly.

"What, why?" Harry asked, feeling slightly dazed.

Snape just shook his head. "Don't move. I'm going to send a Patronus to Draco." With hasty steps, he left the room and started to murmur something in the hallway.

Harry was confused. He knew they couldn't wait for Draco, as it was getting too close, but Snape had acted as if something had gone wrong. With some difficulty, he raised his upper body and looked down.

Only to see the white bed sheet speckled with red drops.

Blankly he stared at the red spots that seemed to mock him and his heart was hammering against his chest.

"Am I bleeding?" His voice didn't seem able to go louder than a whisper and his hands clenched around a fistful of bed sheets. "Why am I bleeding?"

He was fairly certain bleeding wasn't normal.

Snape made his way to the bed in just two large strides, pushing him down almost harshly. "Didn't I say not to move?"

"Why am I bleeding? Is something wrong with the baby?" Harry asked and felt panic rising, threatening to tighten its grip around his heart.

After all those months of being careful, would he now lose his baby after all?

"Panicking won't help you at all," Snape snapped. "Now calm down, before I force a Calming Draught down your throat."

"Why the fuck am I bleeding? Is the baby going to …"

"Harry?"

They both turned their heads sharply to the door when a third voice sounded. Draco was standing in the doorway, his hair mussed, his robes wrinkled and his eyes wide.

Without any preamble, Draco threw his bag and robes hastily on the floor and marched over to the bed, sinking down on the matrass next to his harshly breathing lover.

"What took you so long?" Snape glared. "Potter's contractions are only five minutes apart. Didn't I tell you your presence was required as soon as the contractions were fifteen minutes apart? Where were you that it took your mother so long to contact you?"

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and let Harry squeeze his hand tightly when the next contraction hit him. "I didn't know Harry had gone into labour! I was just notified by your Patronus. I was still in the meeting and I never got a message that mother contacted me."

 _She didn't even contact him_ , Harry realised with a shock. She knew the father had to be there during the delivery, she knew the danger the absence could cause and yet, she had never contacted Draco.

Was her dislike for him so big that she wouldn't mind hurting her own grandchild?

What happened next was a giant blur for Harry. He could feel Draco's magic reaching out to his, offering support where he needed it. Draco was sitting behind him, letting him lean against him and murmuring soothing words in his ear throughout the entire time Harry was pushing to get the baby out of his body; letting him know how proud he was of Harry for enduring so much and how it wouldn't be long before they could hold their baby in their arms.

Harry lost track of time; all he knew was that he had to keep pushing if he wanted his baby to be born without suffering consequences.

Finally, right when Harry was seriously starting to think he wouldn't be able to continue, the sharp cry of a new born baby tore through the room and he sagged back against Draco's chest, closing his eyes.

He was tired and sore and he just wanted to go to sleep now.

A small, warm weight being placed on his chest made him open his eyes again. Their son was wrapped in a light blue blanket, only his little fists and head peeking out of the bundle. A tuft of messy, light blond hair shone weakly in the light and light green blue eyes stared at him curiously, while a rose bud like mouth made a smacking sound.

"Hey, there, sweetie," Harry whispered with a faint smile.

"He's healthy; you were lucky," Snape said gruffly.

"Thank you for helping, Severus," Draco smiled and his eyes shone proudly when they regarded the small baby.

"Don't mention it," Snape muttered with a sigh.

Draco placed a tender kiss on Harry's cheek. "I'm going to Floo call my parents to tell them their grandson has arrived," he announced with a wide grin and hastily left the room.

"This was a close call, Potter," Snape muttered darkly and helped him sit up straight.

Harry winced a bit when he felt his body protest. "As if I don't know that," he retorted, too tired to be annoyed.

"Listen, Potter, your magic was helped by Draco's on time, but I'm not certain whether your body will be able to handle a second pregnancy," Snape stated bluntly and studied him with unreadable eyes.

Harry groaned. "Do you really think I'm thinking about a second child now? Merlin, I just finished giving birth; give me a break."

He was happy to have his son finally in his arms, after nine months of carrying him, but he was also relieved that it was finally over.

Snape clucked his tongue. "Just warning you in case you do want a second child."

Harry was quiet until Snape was about to leave the room.

"Is something wrong with my magic?" he asked softly, fearing the answer. He had heard about men who had lost almost all their magic after giving birth to their child. Was this what Snape had been hinting at when he said his body probably couldn't handle a second pregnancy?

Snape rested a hand against the doorpost. "It's somewhat unstable, but that was to be expected after the whole ordeal," he murmured. "If you don't overwork yourself, it should stabilize soon."

With that, he left.

"I finished Floo calling my parents," Draco smiled and closed the door behind him. "They are happy and will be visiting soon to meet our son."

"Did you contact Hermione?" Harry asked, finally looking up. Their son had fallen asleep, but Harry didn't want to relinquish his hold on him yet. He was still marvelling silently that this beautiful boy – a perfect mixture of his parents – had come from his body.

"Yeah, I did." Draco nodded. "She said she would be visiting tomorrow and that I had to make sure you rested well."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't think I'll be up for a Quidditch match soon," he quipped. "Did you tell your parents what his name is?"

"Yes," Draco snorted. "They weren't really thrilled about his second name, but I told them we made this compromise and we wouldn't go back on it."

Harry smiled faintly and carefully placed a kiss on his baby's forehead. "Welcome to the family, Scorpius James."


	2. Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This story was supposed to end with just two chapters. However, yet again my brain has betrayed me and the chapter is becoming far too long to post it as one chapter.
> 
> So I'm cutting the chapter in two again, so this is part 2 and you can expect a part 3 to be posted soon as well (just need to finish two last scenes).
> 
> One day I'll manage to finish a birthday fic in just one chapter ... One day ...
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: oh boy, probably the most heaviest part of the three when it comes to angst. This chapter contains a nearly breakdown (I hope I didn't screw this particular scene up too badly, but I have no experience with it, so apologies if I messed up), more nastiness from the parents-in-law, MPreg, problems with the pregnancy, drama, insecurity, time skips ... I think I've mentioned the most important warnings
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling owns it
> 
> Enjoy the second part!

_Part 2_

Becoming grandparents had not softened Lucius' and Narcissa's attitude towards him. It had been a stupid wish, but he had hoped that by showing them he was capable of giving Draco an heir (even though he had chosen to have a child because he wanted children and not to please them), his parents-in-law would finally soften up towards him, maybe even accept him eventually.

If anything, their attitudes seemed to worsen.

Every visit with Scorpius present, Narcissa made sure to inform Harry of everything he was doing wrong. He was given his son his milk in the wrong way; he was not dressing him appropriately; he was holding him the wrong way; he was not capable of soothing him in the correct way …

Nothing he did was good enough in their eyes.

Harry tried to ignore the snide remarks, focusing on caring for his son, but these remarks hit him harder than before. He was terrified he would screw up as a father, not knowing how to act because he never had the perfect role model – the Dursleys hardly could be considered the perfect role models.

Every time Scorpius cried or refused to drink his milk, panic threatened to overtake him while a voice in the back of his mind told him in a poisonous whisper he was screwing up.

Draco tried to take care of Scorpius whenever he could, but he was busy the entire day at his job. It had been decided that Harry would stay at home for at least two years to take care of Scorpius and that afterwards, their son would go to a Wizarding kindergarten, so that Harry could start working again.

Scorpius was eight months old when Harry nearly broke down completely.

He had visited Lucius and Narcissa without Draco (as he had been called away for an emergency in his lab) this time. Apparently it was some sort of Pureblood tradition to visit the grandparents every week to show the progress of their grandchild.

Harry dreaded this day every week, because it meant he would hear that everything he did was wrong and that he was unfit to take care of a Pureblood child.

It had already been a tiring week. Scorpius was a rather fussy baby during the nights and since he was born, Harry hadn't had the chance to sleep through the night. He had been stealing some hours during the day whenever he could – meaning when Draco was there to take care of Scorpius – but throughout the months, he had never become fully rested. This of course reflected in his appearance: there were slight bags underneath his eyes, his skin had become rather pale and the stress of enduring Narcissa's remarks combined with his worrying about Scorpius had made him drop weight, causing him to look slightly thinner than before he became pregnant.

This week, Scorpius had been even fussier than usual, crying loudly until he fell asleep or until he had eaten. The quietness lasted for an hour or two before the crying started anew.

So by the time Saturday came and with that, the weekly visit to the grandparents, Harry's nerves were already high strung.

"Your appearance is not really befitting of a Pureblood's spouse, Mister Potter. If you can't handle taking care of yourself, how do you expect us to trust you with taking care of our grandson?" Narcissa spoke idly, taking a sip from her iced tea. "Maybe you should hire a house elf to act as a nanny. A house elf will know how to take care of a Pureblood child."

 _Unlike you_ was the unspoken afterthought.

Harry clenched his teeth and concentrated on distracting Scorpius with his bunny. "I can take care of Scorpius; I don't need the help of an house elf," he replied stiffly.

"Really?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I would be more inclined to believe that statement if I hadn't seen your appearance."

An hour. He had been sitting here for an hour with a fussy, red faced Scorpius, enduring their remarks. That had to be enough, right? If he had to stay any longer, he would probably resort to hexing them and that would be hard to explain to Draco.

He stood up. "We need to go home now," he said in a flat voice. "Draco will be home soon, so I need to start making dinner."

Lucius waved his hand, as if Harry needed his permission to leave.

Grinding his teeth, Harry turned around to leave.

"I guess your cooking skills are something to be admired, unlike your parenting skills," Narcissa chimed with a small laugh. "I doubt it's your appearance that convinces Draco to come home to you."

Without realising it, Harry tightened his grip around Scorpius and Apparated straight through the wards, hearing them break with a loud 'crack'.

He appeared on their front porch and he marched inside his house, slamming the door behind him.

The slamming of the door startled Scorpius and the little boy started to cry loudly; his cries sharp and high.

"Oh no, sweetie, I'm sorry; please don't cry," Harry pleaded and cradled the boy carefully against his chest, walking up and down in the hallway, hoping that the repetitive motion would put Scorpius to sleep.

"Please, Scorpius, can you go to sleep for daddy?" he said and squeezed his eyes shut. "Daddy needs to get some sleep too."

In response, Scorpius started to cry harder and Harry winced, feeling a headache building up.

"Come on now, you must be tired, right?" he said desperately and walked to Scorpius' bedroom, so that he could put him down in his crib. "You've just eaten, so that can't be it." He checked the diaper by putting his hand underneath Scorpius' trousers clad bottom. No full diaper either. Then why was he crying?

"Please, sweetie, please go to sleep!" Harry placed the blond boy carefully in his crib and Scorpius started to wave his arms agitatedly, his small legs smacking against the mattress, while his face became even redder.

Harry tried to soothe him by rocking the crib carefully, but no matter how long he rocked or talked soothingly to his son, Scorpius kept crying without stopping once.

Maybe Narcissa was right. Maybe he really was a failure as a father. His son was crying and he couldn't even figure out what was wrong with him. What kind of father was he?

Even calling Kreacher wouldn't help now, because the old house elf had died a month before Harry gave birth.

Another ear splitting cry made him release the crib with a wince and he sunk down on the floor, his back against the wall.

He was so tired of it all. No matter what he did, Narcissa and Lucius weren't close to even accepting him and now he couldn't even soothe his own son. All he had to do was take care of the household and of Scorpius and he couldn't even do that.

What kind of husband and father was he if he couldn't even accomplish the simplest things?

"I can't do this," he moaned and tears started to drip over his cheeks, his shoulders heaving with his sobs.

He was failing at everything he did – how could Draco even stand to be around him?

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear the familiar sound of the Floo activating. He didn't hear a suitcase being dropped on the floor, nor footsteps hurrying up the stairs.

He didn't see Draco entering the room and go in a beeline to the crib, picking up their son, whose cries had weakened.

It was only when the sound of crying had disappeared that he looked up dazed. He could hear Draco's voice murmuring something to their son in a soothing tone, together with the sound of a vial being uncorked.

He stiffened. Draco had seen what had been going on. He had seen their son crying alone in his crib while he sat there uselessly on the ground, like a child that couldn't do anything. He would realise how pathetic Harry was and then …

And then what would happen? Would he realise what Narcissa had seen: that Harry was pathetic and not worth the hassle to put up with for the rest of his life? He knew he looked terrible; while walking up the stairs, he had caught sight of his appearance in the mirror and he had barely been able to supress a wince. His hair resembled a bird's nest more than ever; his bright eyes had dulled and light bags had started to grow underneath his eyes while his former tanned skin had turned into an almost sickly pale colour. He had lost all his pregnancy fat, but instead of gaining his muscles back, he just looked thin, almost as thin as he had been during his last few years at the Dursleys.

He wasn't exactly desirable anymore. It didn't escape his attention that he and Draco barely were intimate anymore. That was mostly his fault, he knew. The first few months Harry's body had been recuperating from the pregnancy and the strain of the birth. After that, Harry was often just too tired to do anything more than sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow – only to wake up a few hours later, because Scorpius needed to eat. He knew Draco was willing to take over the nightly feedings – the blond had offered to do so on multiple occasions – but Harry had turned those offers down, because he knew Draco needed his rest. Draco worked the entire day, while Harry just took the household and caring for Scorpius on his shoulders. In Harry's mind, Draco's job took up far more energy than his household chores.

Since Scorpius' birth, the intimacy between them was restricted to a few simple kisses every day and the occasional hug.

He couldn't even remember when exactly they had last done it.

"Harry."

Draco's soft voice made him tense up. Footsteps neared him until they stopped in front of him and Draco knelt down before him.

"What happened?"

"I screwed up," Harry replied flatly and gripped his hair tightly, tugging on it. "Scorpius kept crying and I can't figure out why."

Draco sighed and when he raised a hand, Harry involuntarily flinched. Draco paused, but stretched out his hand and placed it softly on Harry's cheek, caressing it.

"You didn't screw up, Harry. Scorpius is fussy, because his first tooth is coming through and his gums are aching a bit. I gave him a potion that would help with the ache and his pacifier. He's sleeping in the crib now," Draco murmured.

"I should have known it was his gums that were irritating him," Harry mumbled and could hex himself for not figuring that out. Of course; how could he not have realised that Scorpius' first tooth was coming through? He was eight months old; the book about babies he had been reading mentioned that the first tooth could come through during the eight month and that the child would act fussy and cry more easily because of the pain.

Why hadn't he realised that sooner? He was with Scorpius all day, he should have noticed what was going on.

"The only reason why I know it, is because I used a Diagnostic charm," Draco replied patiently. "Otherwise I wouldn't have known it either. You didn't screw up, Harry."

"I should have thought about using that charm," Harry murmured and bit his lip. "I can't believe I didn't …"

"Harry!"

He looked up startled when Draco raised his voice a bit.

Stone grey eyes regarded him with worry. "You look tired as hell. Why didn't you tell me you needed help? I would have pushed some of my work to my subordinates," he said, lowering his voice again, mindful of their son dozing off in his crib.

"I don't need help; I, I can handle it," Harry retorted weakly, but even he knew how stupid that sounded. It was clear he couldn't handle it alone. What would have happened if Draco hadn't returned sooner?

"Harry, you look ready to collapse," Draco sighed. "I should have noticed sooner how tired you are. You need time to rest."

"I'm not going to collapse, I promise. I just … just …"

But he was on the verge of collapsing. Taking care of Scorpius took more effort and sucked up more energy than he had expected and he often wondered just how the hell Molly had managed to raise seven children and still look energetic.

A hand rubbed and massaged his shoulder. "You need some decent rest. I'll take up the nightly feedings now, so that you can rest through the nights. I'll call my mother and ask if they want to babysit Scorpius throughout the day until you are recovered. I'm sure she and father won't mind."

"NO!" Harry shot to his knees and clutched at Draco's arm, preventing him from getting up. "Scorpius doesn't need to be babysit by your mother!"

Draco stared at him bewildered. "Why not? She won't mind, I promise."

How could he explain why he didn't want to hand over Scorpius to his grandmother? Harry could already imagine the sort of taunts they would come up with now if they heard that he wasn't even able to handle an eight month old child. They would consider this further proof that he wasn't fit to be a father, even though Harry was trying his hardest to be a perfect father. Maybe they would even manage to convince Draco that Harry wasn't worth the hassle and wasn't worthy of being his husband. What if they used their connections in the Ministry to convince them that Harry was unfit to be a parent and took Scorpius away?

It was a statement of how far Lucius and Narcissa had gone in their taunting that Harry seriously considered them able of taking away his son.

"I – we don't need her help. I can take care of Scorpius – I don't need her help," Harry insisted, unconsciously gripping Draco's arm tighter.

Draco sighed and looked away for a few seconds. "Would you mind if Aunt Andromeda helped during the day? That way you can spend time with Teddy as well. I'm sure he misses his godfather and that way he can spend time with his cousin twice removed as well."

Harry bit down on his lip and shifted his knees. He supposed it wouldn't be that horrible to have Andromeda around to help him. At least she had never taunted him about his blood status or about his parenting skills. She was pleasant to be around with and honestly, he could use some help with Scorpius.

It had also been a while since he last had visited his godson.

"Yeah, okay," he muttered after a bout of silence.

Draco tilted his head to drop a soft kiss on his lips. "Go rest; I'll make dinner, okay?"

Harry wanted to protest, state that he was capable of making dinner, but Draco's determined face made it clear he would not tolerate any protests, so Harry sighed and with a weak smile left to their room to take a quick nap in their bed.

* * *

"Your grandmother says it's time for you to go home, Teddy," Draco spoke up and entered the living room.

Three year old Scorpius looked up with wide eyes. "Teddy bye bye?" he asked curiously.

The ten year old stood up with a regretful sigh. "Yeah, I have to go, Scorp."

Seated on the couch, reading the file of one of his new cases, Harry looked up with a smile. "You can always come back this weekend, Teddy. I'm sure your grandmother won't mind."

"I know," Teddy replied, but still pouted a bit. He bent down and hugged Scorpius, making the blond boy giggle and then walked over to Harry to give him a hug as well.

"Tell your grandmother I said hi, okay?" he smiled and dropped a kiss on Teddy's hair, which had changed to sandy blond hair.

"Will do."

Scorpius occupied himself with the play set of small wizards and witches that could move and jump and started to mutter something – most likely dialogue belonging to the little figures.

Harry watched the scene with tender eyes. After the first year, Scorpius had managed to sleep through the nights, making it a lot easier for his parents to regain their much needed rest. Andromeda had helped a lot as well – for a few hours every day she had visited them for the first two years, taking care of Scorpius and the household, so that Harry could sleep. Teddy accompanied her whenever he could, eager to play with his cousin.

Draco entered the room, right when Scorpius started to clap his hands, because two of the wizards were floating.

"Seems like his magical outbursts are becoming more frequent," Draco murmured and sat down next to Harry.

Harry nodded. "Hm, just yesterday he made his mashed peas disappear," he said dryly.

"I guess he didn't approve of his lunch," Draco chuckled. He placed his arm around Harry's shoulders and threw a glance at the file. "New case?"

"Yeah, but it's an easy one from what I can tell. Shouldn't take me more than an hour to break it," Harry murmured, closing the file after writing down one last remark.

"I've been meaning to ask …" Draco trailed off, a look of uncertainty crossing his face.

The dark haired twenty-seven year old placed the closed file on the table next to him and turned to look at his husband. "What?"

Draco bent towards him, bringing their faces closer and lowered his voice. "What do you think about having a second child?"

"A second child?" Harry repeated surprised. "Ah, eh, I haven't thought about it to be honest. I thought you wouldn't want a second child."

"I know how it is to grow up without any siblings and I don't want Scorpius to experience that loneliness," Draco replied and gazed at their son, who was ignoring their conversation in favour of his toy set. "I know he has Teddy, but Teddy will be going to Hogwarts next year and Scorpius would benefit from having someone close to his age."

A second child, huh …

When he had discovered that men were capable of carrying children, he had envisioned himself with at least two children of his own. After getting together with Draco, he had just assumed the man would only want one child, because the Malfoy family never had more than one child (presumably to prevent fights over inheritance later on).

He had been content to have only one child – knowing in the back of his mind that he had a high chance of only having one thanks to the state of his body – but now Draco had started the subject of a second one and his buried desire to have at least one more reared its head again.

"So what do you think? If you don't want to have a second one, I understand – you've only been back to work for a year, but I just thought …"

Draco's rambling was cut off by Harry's lips.

"I wouldn't mind having a second one," Harry smiled and pressed another kiss on surprised lips. "When do you want to … you know …" he trailed off, unwilling to say anything indiscriminating when their son was near them.

"Whenever you're ready," Draco answered immediately and looked a bit embarrassed at his eager reply. "Sorry, it's just … I really want to have a second child with you."

Harry chuckled and rubbed his thumb over the hand that was placed on his leg. "I'll ask Snape whether he wants to make the potion again."

He ignored the small voice that told him Snape wouldn't be willing to make the potion again in favour of answering Draco's enthusiastic kiss.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind?" Snape asked flatly and stepped away from the cauldron in which he had been stirring a purple potion.

Harry fidgeted in the doorway of the laboratory. After the conversation with Draco – and an in depth one later on in the evening that included details like when he would take leave from his work – he had written a letter to Snape, asking whether he was up for a visit.

He had received a response two days later and now here he was three days later. Scorpius was being babysat by Andromeda and Teddy and Draco was overseeing the meeting with a woman who wanted to start up a shop solely to sell Draco's potions.

"My magic has been stabilized for more than two years now," he pointed out calmly. "As long as my magic is stabilized, then my body can handle a second child, right?"

"Potter, you were already pushing your body and magic with the first one. Carrying a second one might make you end up as a Squib or even dead," Snape said coldly, wiping his hands clean of some specks of the potion that had splattered on his skin.

"I can handle a second one," Harry insisted and took a step closer. "I'll be careful like the first time. I'll make sure that Draco won't be away in a meeting when I'm nearing my due date. Sir, Draco and I really want to have a second child."

"Would Draco still be eager if he knows how risky it would be for you?" Snape asked softly, his black eyes glittering.

Harry stiffened and glowered at his old professor. "There is no need to inform him, because it won't be risky. I know what I'm doing and I know my body can handle a second one."

But Snape shook his head. "I cannot, in good conscience, give you the potion. Your magic was very unstable near the end of your pregnancy and this would be a huge risk. I know you like taking risks, Potter, but I am not going to watch Draco suffer if it turns out your body cannot handle a second one."

Harry clenched his hands and glared at the man, who looked calmly back. He couldn't go back to Draco and tell him that Snape wasn't willing to give him the potion. Draco would want to know why and if he told him the reason of Snape's refusal, Draco would most likely abandon the idea of a second child and Harry could not let that happen.

He knew it could be risky, but he just needed to be careful. He would be even more careful than he was during the time he expected Scorpius and that was saying something.

He bit his lip; he didn't want to do what he was planning next, but he couldn't let go of the desire to have a second child.

"Fine," he snapped and turned around. "Then I'll just look up another Potions Master and ask that person for the potion. I'm certain that person will be willing to give me one."

He was nearly at the front door when Snape's cool voice carried over to where he was.

"Potter. Wait."

Even with the guilt of tricking Snape like that, Harry went back with excitement bubbling up in his stomach.

* * *

As it turned out, carrying their second child was more taxing than he had expected. The first four months went by without much problems; he was tired during the mornings and experienced morning sickness – often lasting throughout the day – but overall, it wasn't that bad. Nothing that a few Anti-Nausea potions couldn't cure.

Snape, who was rather pissed off at the way Harry had managed to convince him to give him the potion, still insisted on doing weekly check-ups, starting from the moment he knew he was pregnant. The due date was now estimated to be around the middle of April, which meant Harry had to take a leave from his work starting from the fifth month to make sure he didn't exert himself.

They had informed Scorpius about the baby when Harry was four months far and the dangerous months had passed. The little boy had been apprehensive at first – not really understanding how a baby could possibly fit in his daddy's belly – but after a while he seemed happy to gain a new brother or sister.

The rest of the family and friends were informed a week after Scorpius had been told. Harry's friends and Andromeda had congratulated them and Teddy had been excited, looking forward to gaining another cousin on who he could dote.

Narcissa had hugged Draco and Lucius had given him a congratulatory nod, but as soon as Draco had turned his head for a moment, Narcissa had looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow and a mocking smile on her lips while Lucius had shaken his head.

"I guess this is one way to keep him with you," Lucius had murmured.

Their snide remarks and overall cold attitude towards Harry didn't stop – and by now he had given up on ever gaining their approval. He tried to ignore them as much as possible, focusing his energy on Scorpius and the growing baby inside of him, enjoying the intimate moments he could steal with his husband.

However, whether it had to do with the pregnancy making him more sensitive or just the fact that years full of snide remarks were finally hammering down on his emotional state, one day when he was six months far, during Scorpius' birthday, he came close to losing the baby.

Lucius and Narcissa had insisted on celebrating Scorpius' fourth birthday in Malfoy Manor and Harry hadn't had the energy nor a good reason to protest against it.

He had insisted on having Andromeda and Teddy at the party – he had wanted Hermione and Ron to attend as well, but he had no desire to subject them to foul remarks, so he had decided to have a private party with them the following day.

The day had started out relatively well. The party started at exactly one p.m. and first lunch was planned, followed by Scorpius opening his presents. After five presents were opened, there was a break in which Draco helped Scorpius with cutting the birthday cake. Teddy was taking pictures of it, claiming a birthday party wasn't complete without taking pictures.

Harry had seen Lucius and Narcissa stiffen when Andromeda and Teddy had entered the garden (which had been spelled to have warm weather) and he couldn't help but be glad about that. Even if they didn't like Andromeda and Teddy, they still couldn't say anything about it, because public appearances had to be kept even between family and friends.

The atmosphere was so light hearted that Harry carelessly let his guard down – and that was probably why the remarks hit him so hard.

Narcissa appeared next to him without any warning.

"How is the baby developing?" she asked idly, taking a sip of her champagne.

Harry stiffened; his hands, which had been slowly caressing his visibly rounded stomach, stilled. "The baby is doing well; Snape said there were no problems," he replied flatly, hoping that she would leave him alone now.

No such luck.

"Usually men don't have more than one child," she murmured, her eyes fixed on Scorpius who was opening a small present. "Not only are their bodies too exhausted after the first one, but also because they don't want to feel like they are leeching off of their partners who take up the role of bringing in the money." A sharp smile appeared on her face, her eyes shining coldly in the dull sunlight. "I guess some people are too noble to complain about their leeching partners."

Harry stood up abruptly, clenching one of his hands in his shirt. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom," he muttered and walked out of the garden, trying to ignore Narcissa's light hearted chuckle.

As he walked to the nearest bathroom, he thought that he should have mentioned that Draco was the one who had brought up the subject of a second child. It was not like he liked 'leeching' off of Draco; if he wanted this pregnancy to progress smoothly, he had no other choice than to take time off from his work. If he had his say, he would still be working as a Curse breaker. It wasn't that he didn't like being around Scorpius – the opposite actually, he usually couldn't wait to go home when he was still working because he missed his son – but he liked being busy and helping other people. Breaking curses fit those two categories perfectly.

Too bad that his job proved a hazard for his unborn baby.

The door of the bathroom closed soundlessly behind him and he immediately went to the sink to splash water in his face.

Narcissa had made it sound as if he had gotten knocked up, just to stop working. As if he wanted Draco to provide for him like he was his … his private whore or so. Harry winced at that thought and stopped splashing the water, staring down at the sink.

Lucius or Narcissa had never called him a whore to his face, but he had heard enough implications in their comments to pick up that that was what they considered him to be at times. In the beginning of his relationship with Draco they especially had made it clear to him that he was nothing but a nice body for Draco to occupy himself with for a while. After Draco had proposed to him, their comments had changed to implicating that his only worth was in bed and that he couldn't offer Draco anything else besides his body.

Hands clenched tightly around the white, impeccable sink while his breathing started to become laboured.

This was the first time however that he had been called a leech. Not even during his first pregnancy had he been called that. But he supposed that that was because Scorpius was their first grandchild – and if either of his in-laws had had a say in it, Scorpius would also be their last.

A twinge of pain in his sides made him clench his teeth.

What had he done to deserve such nasty in-laws? He had lost his parents at an early age, had endured years with a family that hated his entire existence, had lost several other people including Sirius and Remus and had battled one of the darkest wizards in history multiple times before finally defeating him. Wasn't that enough to warrant him some good luck after all that? What did he have to do for his in-laws to finally stop with their poisonous remarks?

Drowning in his dark thoughts, he never took notice of his magic swirling wildly around him nor looked in the mirror to see how pale he had become.

He only noticed something was going horribly wrong when a sharp stab of pain, like a knife slashing across his skin, shot through his body with his stomach as the origin. His stomach in which his baby was kicking frantically.

With a gasp, he looked down and his sight started to become blurry when a dark spot on his light brown trousers began to spread.

He sank down on the floor, his hands clutched around his stomach. "No, no, no, this can't be happening," he whispered in panic, but before he could call a house elf for help, everything started to spin in front of his eyes and then only darkness greeted him.

* * *

"…you mean, it was dangerous!? He never told me …"

"… didn't want me to tell you for fear …"

"Of course I wouldn't have if that meant …"

The conversation was muted, but it took place behind a closed door – meaning that the people talking were most likely conversing louder than was considered to be a normal conversational tone.

Green eyes opened slowly, the owner of them becoming aware of his surroundings.

Harry was back in Grimmauld Place, lying in his bed underneath the sheets. His sight was slightly blurry, which meant that his glasses were taken off of him.

For a brief moment he wondered why he had woken up in bed, until the events of that day hit him like a sledgehammer and he soundlessly sucked in his breath. He wrestled his arms free from underneath the sheets and felt his stomach. It was still as rounded as before – was that a good sign?

He sat up and stared down at his rounded stomach. Closing his eyes, he pressed down with three fingers, fiercely hoping he would get a response.

It was faint – almost unnoticeable. He shifted around, bringing his legs up so that he could cross them and almost cradle his stomach between them and pressed down again, urging his magic to reach out.

A small tendril of magic seemed to touch his own, greeting it almost shyly and he felt a soft push giving against his fingers.

Harry brought a hand to cover his mouth and a couple of tears leaked from his eyes. For one horrible moment, he had thought he had lost his baby. But the baby proved to be stronger and he was still safely inside of him, even though this had been a very close call.

The door to his bedroom was opened and Snape entered soundlessly, his hair looking oddly ruffled and splotches of red coloured his cheeks.

"You have once again managed to defeat the odds, Potter," Snape murmured and he sounded exhausted.

"What happened?" Harry asked nervously, bringing his hand down. "I remember feeling pain and … and bleeding."

"You did indeed bleed quite a lot," Snape sighed and leant against the closed door. "You went through three vials of Blood Replenishing potions, before you had enough blood in your body again. I don't know exactly what happened, but the stress that you were experiencing was driving your magic out of control and as a result, you nearly went into labour. I managed to stop the process on time, but it was close."

"How come I'm here? I would have thought I would be in Malfoy Manor," Harry said, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he had come close to losing his child. It was one thing to assume that, but to hear his assumption being confirmed …

"In the state you were, you needed all the help you could get, so Draco brought you here in order for the house to extend its magic to help you," Snape replied in a neutral voice. "It took hours before your magic calmed down and your body was stabilized."

"Hours?" Harry frowned and looked around. The weak sunlight shining through the parted curtains could either mean it was morning or late afternoon.

"It's Monday," the older man answered curtly. "You were unstable for almost the entire day and it was only around four in the morning that your magic stopped lashing out."

"Thank you for … for helping me and my baby," Harry said softly and swallowed, finding it hard to meet the dark eyes.

"I told Draco everything."

"What do you mean with …"

"I had no choice. Last evening your state worsened and for a moment the possibility existed that Draco needed to choose between keeping you alive and your baby," Snape continued flatly. Meanwhile his wand was slashing through the air, performing a Diagnostic charm. "He asked me today how your body could have been in such a vulnerable state if the pregnancy was progressing smoothly."

Draco knew. He knew how dangerous the pregnancy in reality was. Worst of all, he now knew that Harry had kept a lot of information about the pregnancy hidden from him.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to ignore the sick feeling that rose up in his stomach.

"It's time for you and Draco to talk," Snape murmured and his robes rustled when he disappeared.

Silence reigned when his husband entered the room. Harry wasn't sure what to say and instead clenched the sheets between his hands, worrying his lip between his teeth.

"Our wedding's anniversary is in three weeks," Draco announced abruptly, breaking the silence.

Harry stared at him bewildered, not certain where he intended to go with this particular conversation topic.

"I was thinking about our vows." Draco raised his head and stared at him with unreadable eyes. "More specifically the part where we swore to tell everything to each other, bar the content of presents."

"Draco, I can explain," Harry started weakly.

"So you can explain why my husband apparently didn't want me to know that carrying a second child could leave him as a Squib or worse?" Anger and hurt seemed to wage war on his face, each emotion trying to get the upper hand. Those eyes, usually a soft grey, at times even resembling silver, were now hard as stone and Draco's shoulders were tense.

"If I thought the risk had been too big, I wouldn't have taken the potion, but I wanted a second child," Harry replied in a small voice. "It's … this is the first time my magic has acted up like that. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Harry, you don't seem to understand the issue here," Draco spat and raked his hands through his hair, messing it up. "Even if you thought the risk wasn't that big, you still should have informed me about it! I'm your husband, for Merlin's sake!"

"But if I had told you about the risks, you wouldn't have wanted this baby!" Harry fired back, throwing his head up so that he could look straight in Draco's eyes. "I know you, Draco; you would have said I shouldn't take the potion and …"

"And can you blame me for that? Yes, if I had known the pregnancy would be risky, I would never have brought up having a second child." Draco started to pace up and down in front of the bed, his hands clasped behind his back. "Having a second child is not worth it if it means you get hurt during the process – I love you and I don't want to lose you, Harry; surely you can understand that?"

Harry swallowed and started to rub his stomach in an effort to calm himself down. "I won't get hurt. I … you want this baby as well, right?" he asked uncertainly. Something about the way Draco was talking about their baby made it seem like he didn't welcome it anymore. That, now he knew there were risks involved, the baby wasn't worth it anymore.

But he couldn't want to …

Draco sighed and sunk down on the bed, occupying the space next to Harry's legs. "You know I want this baby," he said softly. "But I don't want to be put in a position where I have to choose between you or the baby. No baby is worth losing you."

"I'll be more careful," Harry mumbled; his hand motionless on his stomach.

"You won't have a choice about that," the blond laughed humourlessly. "Severus has basically put you on bed rest. You can still walk around in the house, do some light chores, but you have to rest as much as possible."

Harry wanted to protest, but he knew that bed rest was a small price to pay for keeping his child safe. So instead he kept quiet and nodded.

"Severus said that this was most likely caused by stress," Draco murmured and looked hesitantly. "What happened?"

Harry gazed at Draco and released a sigh. How could he tell his husband that his mother had been taunting him again and that he hadn't handled it as well as he normally could? Admitting that would either lead to a fight between him and Draco or a fight between Draco and his parents and Harry didn't want to come between them. As much as he loathed Lucius and Narcissa, they were still Draco's parents and he could clearly see how much they adored him. He didn't want to be the cause of a fight between them.

"I don't know." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I haven't been sleeping well lately, so maybe that was the cause?"

Draco clucked his tongue in worry. "Why didn't you tell me that you didn't sleep well? I could have given you something."

"Didn't think about it," Harry lied.

"If you still don't sleep well, let me know, please?" Draco murmured. "I don't want you to stress yourself." He shuffled closer on the bed so that he could give Harry a kiss on his lips.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," Harry whispered and slid his fingers through fine, blond hair.

He received a wry smile in return. "I guess that's something I need to get used to, being your husband and all."

A pale hand touched his stomach almost reverently. "I'm so glad I didn't have to choose between you two."

They shared another tender kiss.

"I love you," Harry murmured, feeling the baby inside of him kicking when the blond shifted his hand over his stomach.

"I love you too." Grey eyes gazed at him lovingly.

"Uncle Sev, I see daddy?"

Scorpius' question made Harry smile and the couple broke apart.

"I guess Scorpius is becoming too impatient now," Draco chuckled and stood up. "I'll go get him."

Harry nodded and discreetly wiped away the few tears that had gathered in his eyes. Damn hormones were making him more emotional than he normally was.

"Daddy!" Dark green eyes – a copy of his own and his mother's – stared at him in excitement and the little blond boy toddled over to the bed as fast as his small legs could carry him.

"Hey sweetie," Harry grinned and helped his son climb on the bed.

Here in his bed, surrounded by the two people he loved the most, it was easier to push the memory of Narcissa's sharp tongue to the back of his mind and forget for just a few moments her treatment towards him. His family still mattered more to him than the poisonous barbs Lucius and Narcissa threw at him.


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And here I am with third and last part! It took me a bit of figuring out how exactly I would write the ending (considering this is from Harry's point of view only), but I managed to do it - somehow.
> 
> Anyway, first of, I would like to thank a dear friend of mine for helping me with finding a name for the youngest son - thank you, sweetheart! I really suck at finding names, so her help was really appreciated!
> 
> Secondly, thank you for the kudos!
> 
> Warnings: some more angst, drama, time skips, insecurity regarding the body (sorry if I screwed this up, I tried my best to portray it as realistic as I could), lemon, cruelty of the in-laws ... I think those are the most important warnings.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter - J..K. Rowling owns it
> 
> Please enjoy the last part!

_Part 3_

The rest of his pregnancy progressed without any problems. Harry made sure to rest on time and to not overexert himself and Draco made sure to be home early every time so that he could take care of his pregnant husband and their son.

On the fifteenth of April, during the early morning hours, Harry went into labour and at three thirty in the afternoon, they welcomed their second son into the world. They had decided to name him Cain Sirius – Sirius, because of Harry's connection with his godfather and because of the Greek roots which fell in the Malfoy tradition and Cain, because it meant 'strong' and it reminded Harry of how his baby had been strong enough to survive the out lash of his magic.

Harry and Draco both came to the decision to not try Lady Faith a third time and agreed to not try for a third child, for fear that this time Harry would not survive it.

They were happy with the children they now had.

* * *

Harry had never really bothered to care about the way his body looked. He knew he had been skinny to the point of it being unhealthy when he attended school. Playing Quidditch and decent meals in school had made sure he packed on some muscles and a nice six-pack. His work as a Curse Breaker didn't really require him to be in great shape – his magic was all that mattered, but he still made sure to exercise whenever he could, so that he would stay in good shape. During his pregnancy with Scorpius he didn't pack on that much weight and the stress after the birth got rid of the excess weight fast.

Again during his second pregnancy he didn't put on more weight than was necessary, but after the birth he didn't lose the excess weight as quickly as he had during his first one. When Cain was five months old, he had slowly started exercising again whenever he had some spare time, but even with Andromeda's help, taking care of both his children had him busy throughout the entire day.

His busy schedule of taking care of the household and their two sons led to him still having a slight belly when Cain was ten months old.

Normally this wouldn't have bothered him too much – sure, he'd like his former shape back, but taking care of his children took priority – except that once again Narcissa proved that she excelled in digging up insecurities and try as he might, Harry was not able to shrug her comments off easily …

To celebrate Valentine's day, Lucius and Narcissa had decided to throw a big party in the manor to celebrate the day of love. Not only the Parkinsons and the Zabinis were invited, but also other prestigious Pureblood families like the Greengrass' and important members of the Ministry.

Naturally, they invited their son and his husband as well and Harry had reluctantly agreed to attend. Andromeda had offered to babysit Scorpius and Cain for the weekend, so that Draco and Harry could finally enjoy a weekend without having the children around, as it had been quite a while since they last had time for each other.

The party started at six p.m. and there would be no fixed time for dinner; guests could ensemble their meal from the various plates filled with delicious food that was placed on the long tables against the walls.

"I can't wait until we're home again," Draco whispered in his ear and hands came to rest on his hips, grabbing them firmly.

"Oh? And what do you plan to do once we're home?" Harry smiled and took a sip from his glass of red wine.

Hands rose up discreetly until fingers slipped inside his trousers, caressing his hipbones, making him inhale sharply.

"Oh, I know a couple of things that we can do," Draco said lowly. "I'm going to undress you slowly and kiss every inch on your body. I'm going to tease you until you're ready to beg me for more." He pressed his hips flat against Harry's arse. "But I'm not going to go further until you _are_ begging me for it, until you are pleading for me to fuck you. Then I'm going to fuck you until you know nothing else but my name, until you won't even be able to walk normally for the entire weekend." The last words were almost hissed and teeth clamped around his earlobe and tugged softly on it.

"Oh fuck," Harry hissed between clenched teeth and nearly whimpered when he felt Draco's obvious interest pressing against him.

He couldn't deny that he looked forward to getting the hell out of here and letting Draco do whatever he wanted with him. They had had several intimate moments in the months before, but those were mainly restricted to some heavy petting at the most, because they never had enough time to do more than that.

But now Scorpius and Cain were having a sleepover at Andromeda's house, so they would have the whole house for themselves for the entire weekend.

He turned around to face Draco and smiled impishly. "I can't wait to go home," he whispered and brought his head up to lock their lips together in a kiss, which soon started to toe the line of being indecent, considering the place they were.

They were interrupted by an amused Blaise Zabini. "Draco, get your hands off of your husband for just one minute, so that I can introduce you to a friend of mine."

Draco released a suffering sigh and scowled at his best friend. "Zabini, you never knew when to stay the hell away, huh?"

Harry chuckled and stepped back, giving the hands that lingered on his arse a quick squeeze. "Go with him. I'll get something to eat."

Draco rolled his eyes, but after sharing one quick kiss, he followed his friend.

Harry walked to the nearest table that mostly carried various dishes containing fruit: diced, sliced, dipped in chocolate … He was trying to decide what kind of fruit he would pick when he heard a very familiar voice piping up near him and he froze.

Lucius and his wife were standing just a couple of feet away from him. They were talking to each other and seemingly hadn't noticed Harry, but he didn't doubt for one second that they didn't know he was standing near them.

While his eyes danced from one plate to another one, he couldn't help but pick up what Narcissa was saying.

"And have you seen Daphne yet? She delivered her daughter three months ago and yet she has regained her former figure already," Narcissa remarked casually and the various golden bracelets on her wrists shone brightly in the candle light.

"It is remarkable," Lucius mused and clucked his tongue. "Too bad the same cannot be said for the Blueweed girl. Her parents are rather embarrassed about the fact that their son-in-law filed for a divorce after she let herself go."

Narcissa sighed softly. "Is it that difficult for some people to realise that if you want to retain your partner's desire, you actually have to stay desirable? Nobody wants to bed someone who is not in good shape after all. Every Pureblood knows this."

"Her friends mostly consisted out of Halfbloods and Muggleborns – you can hardly expect someone of her to have common sense," Lucius sneered.

"I am glad we managed to raise Draco well. At least he upholds our traditions," Narcissa murmured and without deigning Harry a glance, they left; their conversation shifting to the gown one particular woman was wearing.

Harry stood frozen in front of the table; his arms crossed tightly in front of his stomach. He swallowed and squeezed the skin of his sides tightly, his eyes staring blankly at the plates. He shouldn't let this conversation bother him. So what if one guy had divorced his wife, because she hadn't stayed in good shape? That had nothing to do with him. Draco loved him for who he was, not for his body only. Draco wasn't that shallow.

And yet, he couldn't help but think that he and Draco had never made love while he was still slightly chubby from the pregnancy. Of course they had slept together various times during his pregnancy, but there was an obvious difference between having a belly because the child was growing and having a slight belly, because he hadn't gotten rid of the excess weight yet.

But that wouldn't matter, right? He wasn't that overweight – it was only his stomach that hadn't become completely flat yet. His stomach was only obvious through tight shirts anyway and well, when he was naked, but again, that wouldn't matter, because Draco loved him for him, not for his body.

Still, he couldn't keep himself from self-consciously tugging his shirt, wondering whether it was obvious that he wasn't in good shape yet.

He didn't feel comfortable for the rest of his stay at the party and even though he tried to distract himself by talking to Kingsley, who was shooting for the position of Prime Minister next year, his mind didn't stop bringing up the conversation between his parents-in-laws.

"What do you say we get the hell out of here, hm?" Draco breathed in his ear and slipped behind him. "We've been here long enough and I want you _now_."

Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to stop thinking about the conversation, Harry glanced up at him and smiled faintly. "Let's go."

They hightailed it out of the grand ballroom, only stopping briefly to say goodbye to Draco's parents, and immediately Apparated, landing in front of the hidden house. Grimmauld Place Twelve materialized in front of their eyes as soon as they thought about the address – the old wards had never been put down – and the second the front door closed behind them with a soft 'click', Draco nearly jumped on Harry like a lion would jump on his prey.

Harry's back was pressed harshly against the door and their teeth clacked together, before they realigned their faces and kissed each other hungrily. Tongues came out to stroke and tease the other one, while hands busied themselves with divesting the other one from their cloaks and they hastily kicked off their shoes.

"Fuck, come on, bed now," Draco panted and without giving Harry time to protest, he snatched his wrist and nearly dragged Harry through the hallway, up the stairs to their bedroom. They stumbled into the bedroom, their lips locked together again and Harry took the opportunity to place his glasses on his nightstand so that they wouldn't break.

Moonlight shone brightly through the window, illuminating their bodies.

The sheets were impatiently ripped away and Draco pushed Harry on the bed, following him on it immediately afterwards.

Harry groaned loudly when a hot mouth started sucking his neck and his trembling fingers unbuttoned Draco's shirt. The shirt was thrown away, landing on the floor and right when Draco was half way done with unbuttoning Harry's shirt, Harry's mind flashed back to the conversation between his in-laws and he froze, his hands grabbing Draco's to stop him.

Draco pulled back and stared at him befuddled, while he panted. "What's wrong?"

"Just, eh." Emerald green eyes flitted through the room until they landed on the open window. "Just going to close the curtains quickly."

Draco groaned in protest and dropped his head on a pillow when Harry slid from underneath him and padded over to the window.

"Seriously? You have to do that now?" Draco grumbled and snatched his wand from his pocket to light up a candle that stood on his nightstand.

Satisfied that the windows were now closed, cutting off the bright moonlight, Harry opened his trousers and stepped out of them, leaving them on the ground.

"I wanted to strip you," Draco complained, but quickly got rid of his own clothes, even his underwear, so that he was completely naked.

Harry rolled his eyes, but his breathing quickened – and he wasn't sure whether that was from desire. He was still clad in a half unbuttoned shirt and his underwear and he felt uncertain suddenly. His hands hovered over his shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to remove the cloth. Removing it meant being naked. Being naked meant that Draco would be able to see how he was built even with the weak candlelight.

Even though he had been convinced until today that Draco loved him for who he was, he suddenly felt insecure over his body and started to doubt whether Draco would still be attracted to him after seeing his body. Draco had followed a lot of Pureblood traditions – though he had become more lenient with them after he married Harry, but how deeply were those traditions ingrained?

Would he be repulsed by Harry's body, because he hadn't been able to regain his former figure back? Would he push Harry away and claim he was too tired to do anything? Would he still be willing to touch him after seeing his body?

The difference between Draco's body and his own was glaringly obvious; despite his rather non-active job, Draco still had a fit body: muscled arms, well defined six-pack … while Harry's body had softened a bit during the pregnancy and left him with a small belly.

Draco cocked his head and patted the bed. "Hey, why are you still standing there? Get your arse back here!" he demanded and his eyes glowed with lust and desire, roving across Harry's body with hunger.

With halting steps, Harry made his way to the bed and slowly slid back in it, sitting on his knees in front of Draco.

"Now why don't you get rid of those clothes, so that the real fun can start?" Draco suggested with a smirk and moved forwards to help Harry undressing.

"Eh, can I leave the shirt on?" Harry asked and licked his lips. Maybe if he hid his stomach with the shirt, then Draco wouldn't know the real state of his body. This way they still could have fun and Draco wouldn't be the wiser. Harry just had to make sure that he would get rid of the excess weight quickly.

Draco scoffed and pushed against Harry's shoulders until he fell back and bounced lightly on the bed. Arms surrounded him, forming a cage while grey eyes studied him.

"Now why would you do that? We're not having a quickie, so there's no need to leave the clothes on," he said in an admonishing tone. "Now get rid of it. I promised I would worship every inch of your body and I'm planning on doing that."

"All right, just let me put out the candle," Harry fumbled and he was starting to raise his upper body when a hand, flat on his chest, pushed him back down.

This time the teasing glint in Draco's eyes had disappeared and he looked partly confused, partly troubled. "What's wrong? You've never bothered with the candles before."

"Nothing's wrong; I just, you know, don't want it to suddenly fall over and start a fire or so," Harry retorted weakly and started to push against Draco's shoulders.

Blond eyebrows furrowed and his husband pulled back, sitting on his knees between Harry's spread legs. "You know I use spells on the candles to prevent that," he reminded the dark haired man. "What's going on?"

"Nothing is going on, really, I … STOP THAT!" Harry exclaimed and almost reflexively slapped Draco's hands away when they tried to further unbutton his shirt.

_Shit_. He shouldn't have reacted like that. That had been a stupid move. He winced and resisted the urge to close his eyes. Slowly he sat up and brought his legs up, almost as if they were a shield.

"Is there a reason why I can't see you naked?" Draco's voice was deceptively calm, but his eyes darkened in frustration.

"It's just … why does it matter so much? Why can't I keep my shirt on?" Harry's cheeks started to feel uncomfortably warm and he could only hope he didn't look as red as he thought he was. The teasing, seductive mood that had been growing since the moment they were inside the house had disappeared completely, leaving an uncomfortable Harry and a frustrated Draco in its wake.

Harry's body started to feel cold despite the presence of his shirt and underwear and he suddenly wished that Draco would give up and that they could go to sleep. He couldn't tell the truth without sounding like an insecure nag. An insecure nag who was afraid of being rejected by his husband.

"Maybe because I want to feel my husband's body completely and don't want a shirt to hide you?" Draco replied sharply and scowled.

Harry kept quiet; his arms hugging himself.

"Harry, please, tell me what's wrong," Draco said softly and brought his hands to rest on Harry's knees. "You've never had a problem with getting naked before. I just want to see you, please?"

Harry shook his head and hid his face behind his hands, clenching his teeth. If only he hadn't listened to Narcissa, then he could be enjoying himself now with Draco. But no, it wasn't really Narcissa's fault this time; he allowed his insecurities to wash over him instead of ignoring them.

"Harry, come on, tell me what's …"

"I haven't had the time yet to get back in shape, all right!" Harry finally snapped and dropped his hands, revealing his flushed, humiliated face. "I've started exercising, but between caring for Scorpius and Cain and the regular household chores, there hasn't been many chances for me to decently train, so I'm still … I still have …" Vaguely he gestured towards his stomach, not willing to say it out loud.

Merlin, since when had he become so pathetic?

It was silent for a long time.

Finally, Harry found the courage to look at Draco and he froze when he was met by the strange look in his eyes. An arm stretched out and a hand came to rest on his cheek; a thumb releasing his lower lip from between his teeth.

"Did you really think I'm that shallow that I would be put off by how you look like?" Draco asked and slowly came forwards. Grey eyes were casted down and patiently, oh so slowly, he pushed Harry's legs down, spreading them around his own hips. Still frozen, Harry made no move to intercept Draco and he calmly unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, spreading it wide open.

Now Harry's chest and stomach were bared and he moved his arms in order to cross them in front of his stomach, hiding his belly. However, Draco was having none of that and gently, though firmly, his hands encircled Harry's wrists and kept them caged against the mattress, next to his hips.

"This body has flung itself in front of me to defend me when people tried to attack us when we told them the truth about us," Draco murmured and while holding Harry's gaze, he gently placed a kiss in the middle of Harry's chest. "This body has made love to me countless times before, has given me two beautiful children," the next kiss was placed right above his bellybutton, "how could I ever think it undesirable?"

Harry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His eyes stayed transfixed on the vision of Draco laying between his legs, kissing his stomach again and again.

"I don't care how you look like; I love you for who you are and not only for your body. I'm not shallow, Harry." His voice deepened. "I still find you as desirable as the first time I saw you naked. I still want to make love to you and show you how much I love you."

He rose up and pressed their lips together, rubbing them slowly together, deepening the pressure with every second that passed.

"Can I please see you?"

The last hesitance melted away and assured by Draco's words, Harry haltingly removed his shirt and underwear, leaving him completely naked in front of his lover for the first time in nearly ten months.

"That's it," Draco whispered and drew him closer.

Harry slipped his fingers through blond hair, messing it up slightly while his lips were once again covered by Draco's mouth. They fell back on the bed in a tangle of limbs and their bodies pressed tightly together, neither one of them wanting to leave an inch of skin uncovered.

Hands danced over each other's skin, caressing, stroking, touching wherever they could. Mouths parted, leaving bruised, swollen lips behind, and busied themselves with leaving marks behind in necks and on chests.

While Harry's hands slid over a firm stomach, Draco wasted no time in caressing Harry's; his touches confirming that he wasn't repulsed by what he saw and felt.

Harry swung his legs up and curled them around Draco's waist, bringing their bodies even closer.

A moan left their mouths at the same time when their hard cocks were pressed together, sliding against each other and they halted, staring straight into each other’s eyes.

Harry nodded to the unspoken question in Draco’s eyes and without looking away, the blond summoned the bottle of lubrication they kept locked away in case Scorpius became a bit too curious (one close call with their five year old had been enough).

The sound of the uncapping of the bottle joined the sound of their breathing and the clear gel like liquid shone softly in the candlelight when Draco poured it on his fingers. The bottle was carelessly dropped on the floor and long, slender fingers rubbed together to warm up the lubrication.

A mouth covered his own while Draco softly coaxed him open, being as gentle as he had been during their first time: first slipping in one finger, rubbing it against his soft inner walls, carefully opening him; then a second finger joined the first, rotating a bit before they started to spread, opening his entrance even further. The third finger slipped inside with some difficulty, but once Draco found his sweet spot, hidden deep inside his body, he started to repeatedly hit it, making it easier for the dark haired man to relax when the pleasure started to spike; he whimpered and sighed and curled his toes in the rumpled sheets, not being able to hold back his reactions to the prodding of his prostate.

Harry was a shuddering and moaning mess by the time Draco pulled his hand back and he clasped his trembling arms around Draco’s neck to pull him closer.

“Are you ready?” Draco whispered and cupped Harry’s head with one hand, angling him so that he could kiss him thoroughly while he positioned his cock in front of Harry’s stretched entrance after slathering it with the rest of the lubrication.

Harry pulled back with a gasp and his eyes – pupils blown wide until only a small circle of green was visible – glowed with desire, lightening them with a hidden fire.

“Yes,” he breathed out and then his breathing hitched, stopped for a few seconds and escaped with a whooshing sound when Draco pressed forwards, his head slipping in, making it burn a little before the rest of his member followed, stretching his inner walls even more. Once Draco was completely inside him with his hips flush against Harry’s buttocks, he stayed motionless in order to give his lover the time to get used to feeling full again.

“Oh.” His eyes widened and he swallowed rather noisily. He had nearly forgotten how it felt to be completely connected with Draco, to have their bodies joined so intimately.

Draco laughed breathlessly and started to move slowly, never pulling back far. He pulled back until just the tip of his hard member was still inside and then pushed forwards again, keeping his movements slow, but deep, letting Harry feel every inch of him before he thrusted back inside.

Harry kissed him again and a tongue pushed rather insistently against his closed lips until he opened them and welcomed him in his mouth. Their kisses grew more passionate, harder while their bodies moved faster, falling back into the familiar rhythm of losing themselves in each other.

Harry didn’t know how long they lasted – all sense of time left him when he was surrounded by Draco’s body, his scent, while the man claimed him and let him feel just how much the other desired him, how much he loved him.

Eventually they couldn’t hold back anymore and they fell over the edge together, shuddering and trembling, moans and groans filling the air between them while Harry’s essence coated both their stomachs.

Draco stayed on top of him for a while longer, until their breathing steadied and their hearts calmed down. Only then did he carefully pull back, making Harry shiver in response; he couldn't remember the last time his body had felt this sensitive.

Draco sunk down next to him and Harry turned on his side, resting his head on Draco's shoulder.

Fingers raked through his hair and he closed his eyes, enjoying the light caress.

"I love you," Draco whispered.

Harry pressed a kiss on his collarbone. "I love you too."

Sleep fell over them like a blanket and Harry's last coherent thought before he gave himself over to the darkness was that he would never doubt Draco and his feelings again.

* * *

A few years went by with Lucius and Narcissa still shooting off snide remarks whenever they could and with Teddy visiting every summer when he came home from Hogwarts.

Harry had been content to ignore the snide remarks of his in-laws, having finally decided that no matter what he did, it would never be good enough, so his energy was better spent in taking care of his family and in his job as Curse breaker (to which he returned after Cain turned three years old).

However, there were apparently no limits to how far Narcissa would go to hurt Harry …

* * *

Maybe he had been rather oblivious during his school years – Merlin knew how often Hermione and Draco had insisted he had been – but becoming a parent had changed him. He was attuned to his sons and knew instantly when something had happened. He wouldn't say he was the perfect parent – he made mistakes like everyone else – but he thought he did a good job as father. His sons knew that they could come to him whenever they were troubled and so he knew that Scorpius didn't feel comfortable around his grandparents. Scorpius never gave a real reason as to why he felt uncomfortable, but Harry guessed it had to do with the way Lucius and Narcissa were focused on forming him into a perfect Pureblood child.

Harry and Draco had actually discussed the possibility of having their sons study the Pureblood traditions earlier on and they had come to the agreement that Draco would teach them the traditions he thought were important to know, but he wouldn't be too strict about them.

So when Scorpius turned seven, Draco had started to give him lessons in Pureblood traditions one day per week, which made his parents happy as they had feared that Scorpius would grow up clueless about his heritage and they made sure to ask Scorpius about his lessons, quizzing him occasionally.

Knowing about Scorpius' feelings towards his grandparents, Harry tried to keep them at a distance as long as he could, but he couldn't refuse the occasional visit.

Cain was quieter than his brother, but even at his young age, his face clearly displaced his feelings and thoughts and Harry had noticed before that Cain didn't seem to like being around his grandparents. He had also noticed that Lucius and Narcissa were noticeably cooler towards his youngest son than to his oldest, but he tried to tell himself that he had to be mistaken and encouraged Cain to have fun with his grandparents during their visits.

Harry should have listened to his gut instinct that something was not right between his in-laws and Cain …

They were celebrating Scorpius' ninth birthday in Malfoy Manor when the final blow landed.

The gathering this time was small: Narcissa, Lucius, Harry, Draco, Scorpius, Cain, Andromeda and Blaise with his wife and two year old daughter.

The cake had been cut and the gifts had been opened, and people started to mingle, chattering to each other.

Harry was talking to Blaise's wife – a lovely woman named Isabelle, who was of Spanish decent and had moved to England four years ago – when his hand was suddenly grabbed and he looked down at a distressed looking Scorpius.

"Scorpius, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

The young boy bit his lip and turned his head. "Daddy, I think grandma and grandpa are being mean to Cain again."

Harry froze, both at the comment and the use of the word 'again'. He looked up and saw his in-laws standing in front of five year old Cain, who was hovering next to the table with the half eaten cake on it. His little hands were clutching the table's legs and he looked on the verge of tears.

"Scorpius, stay here with Aunt Isabelle, all right?" he muttered and marched over to the trio. He didn't take the time to look around for Draco, as the man had left the room earlier to deal with an emergency at his lab.

Anger started to course through his veins and he wondered what they were saying to his son to make him so teary-eyed.

He came to an abrupt halt in front of Cain, hiding him behind his legs.

"What's going on here?" he asked coolly and gazed at the couple in front of him.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "We were simply conversing with your son about magic. By the time Scorpius was his age, he could control his magic enough to float small objects, but your youngest here doesn't even seem capable of simple accidental magic."

"Accidental magic can of course not come into existence by asking for it, because it is after all accidental," Narcissa chimed in with a cool smile. "But I can't help but notice that your son has never demonstrated the slightest accidental magic."

"So we thought he had managed to achieve some control over it, like his older brother," Lucius took over in a bored tone. "However, he doesn't seem capable of doing something as simple as making a feather float."

"Dear, are you certain he is not a Squib?" Narcissa asked and glanced at the boy hidden behind Harry, who let out a quiet whimper.

"There is nothing wrong with Cain's magic," Harry hissed, his anger slowly starting to boil.

"Having a Squib as child is rather shameful, so I can understand why you would hide it," Narcissa replied nonchalantly. "There are no known causes of why Squibs exist exactly, but I assume that this particular case happened because of your accident during your pregnancy. From what I have heard, he shouldn't have survived. Honestly, I know not many people like to hear it, but when it comes down to it, it's better to have no child than to have a shameful Squib as a child."

He had enough. He didn't care that they had belittled him every chance they had, didn't care that they had insulted him and had tried to shake his confidence in his relationship over and over again. He could take their insults, could deal with them.

What he couldn't deal with was them attacking his son, hurting him on purpose, belittling him and actively wishing he had died during the pregnancy.

This time he saw no need to hold back anymore.

They had gone too far.

"My son is not a Squib! And even if he was, I wouldn't care at all, because he is my son and I love him no matter what he is or does!" Harry raised his voice, not caring when the chattering around him stopped and a shocked silence fell over the room. "I will not tolerate you hurting him! I don't care what you say about me, how many times you insult me, but you shut up about my children! You have a problem with me? Fine, act like a goddamn adult and take it up with me, but don't take it out on my children." He turned around and picked up his softly crying son, holding him on his hip while rubbing his back. "You've gone too far this time. You can't stand me? Fine, you won't see me anymore – but you won't see your grandchildren either, because I won't let them get hurt by you ever again."

Without giving them a chance to say something – though from their shocked faces, it was clear they didn't know what to say after his little tirade – Harry stalked away.

"Come, Scorpius, we're going home," he said and Scorpius simply smiled relieved, following his dad outside.

"Hold on tightly, sweeties," Harry murmured and embracing both his sons, he Side-Apparated them to their home.

"Am I a bad boy, daddy?" Cain cried, his lower lip trembling.

Harry sat down on the couch, placing him on his lap while Scorpius climbed next to him. "Of course you're not, honey, you're not a bad boy at all," he murmured soothingly and caressed his trembling back.

"Why don't grandma and grandpa like me?" the little boy whimpered and Harry sighed, pressing a kiss on his head.

"I don't know, Cain baby, but that's their loss. You're a wonderful boy and they are stupid to not see that."

"They don't like him, because he doesn't look like them," Scorpius unexpectedly spoke up.

"What?" Harry stared at him, still rocking the child on his lap back and forth.

Scorpius gestured at Cain's unruly, black hair. "I've heard them talking about Cain when they think nobody can hear them. They say he isn't a real Malfoy, because he isn't blond and because he doesn't show his magic like I did," he answered and frowned. "Which is stupid if you ask me, because he does show magic here and he has papa's eyes, right?"

"Yes, he does," Harry replied softly, gazing into watery grey eyes. While Scorpius had inherited his green eyes, Cain had the grey eyes of Draco, but the unruly, black hair of Harry.

"Listen, Cain, you did nothing wrong, okay?" he said in a strong voice and urged the young boy to look at him. "There is nothing wrong with you. Your grandparents were the ones who were bad now."

"Do I have to go back to them?" Cain asked and his lower lip trembled. His small hands came up to rub over his eyes.

Harry pulled his hands away and used his thumbs to carefully wipe away his tears. "No, you don't have to; they went too far. They shouldn't have said those things."

"Good, because I didn't really like visiting them. They are stricter than papa," Scorpius complained and pouted slightly.

Harry smiled faintly. "Don't tell papa that or he might give you more tests," he said amused and had to chuckle a bit when Scorpius grimaced.

The front door opened and closed again and Harry looked up when footsteps came near.

A few seconds later, Draco appeared in the doorway, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"I think we need to talk, Harry," he said in a flat tone.

Harry swallowed and then took a deep breath. "Scorpius, Cain, can you go to your rooms, please? Papa and I need to talk alone."

Scorpius cocked his head, glanced at his father standing in the doorway and nodded slightly. He offered his hand to Cain, who had calmed down and his brother gripped it tightly.

"Come on, Cain."

"Your presents are in your room," Draco murmured and their sons left the room quickly.

As soon as the sound of a door closing upstairs reached them, Draco entered the living room completely and closed the door behind him.

Harry stood up and crossed his arms in front of his chest, wondering who would be the first to start talking.

It turned out to be Draco.

"It seems you had quite a fight with my parents," he started and leant his back against the door. "I didn't catch everything, but I did hear you telling them that they won't ever see their grandchildren again along with some other … things I'm highly curious about. What happened?"

"Did your parents say what happened?" Harry replied with a question, shifting his feet.

He couldn't keep lying now. For years he had kept quiet about the treatment he had to endure, because his in-laws seemed to despise him. He had seen no reason to raise a conflict between Draco and his parents if he told him the truth – or worse, ending up in a fight with Draco, because the blond wouldn't tolerate any badmouthing his parents.

But now his husband had heard him saying he had every intention of keeping the children away from Lucius and Narcissa and the dark haired man realised he had no other choice than to tell the truth if he wanted to keep his children safe.

How should he start, though? How was he supposed to start confessing to his husband that he had been taunted and insulted by the blond's parents every time they visited? How was he supposed to tell how humiliated he had felt every time Lucius and Narcissa had introduced beautiful, single Pureblood women to their son, in the hopes that he would realise what a massive mistake he had made by marrying Harry? How was he supposed to inform his lover that their own children were disliked, purely because Harry had carried them?

Exactly how was he supposed to talk about years and years of feeling hurt, feeling inadequate, trying to ignore the taunts and insults, all the times of not feeling good enough to stand by Draco?

How was he supposed to tell him that he hadn't dared to confide in him for fear of losing him?

"They told me that you started to yell at them out of nowhere, because they were talking to Cain," Draco murmured and raised an eyebrow. "However, after nearly fifteen years of marriage, I'd like to think that I know you well. And I know that you wouldn't just start yelling at them without any reason. I also know how much you value family, so something severe must have happened for you to deny them further contact with our sons. What I want to know is what exactly happened."

Harry bit his lip, but after taking a deep breath, he started to explain what had happened. "They were goading Cain, because he hasn't shown any magic around them. Narcissa said he had to be a Squib, because he couldn't manage to float a light object, while Scorpius was able to do that at that age," he said stiffly and stared at the floor. "She then continued by saying that he probably became a Squib, because I nearly miscarried him and that it was better to not have a child than to have a 'shameful Squib' as a child. She basically said that Cain would have been better off dead and she went too far. I don't care what they say about me, but they can't attack my children. So I told them that they wouldn't get to see them anymore." He finally looked up. "I know how much you care about your parents, but there is no way in hell I'm letting them near my sons again after what they said."

Draco seemed to have become paler and he looked like he didn't know what to do with his hands. "I – didn't know they had said something like that," he finally spoke and sounded aghast. "I can't believe that they said that about our son!"

"Yes, well, they did. So I'm not letting them near Scorpius or Cain again," Harry spat and clenched his fists.

Grey eyes darkened in a particular way – the way they did when Draco brooded over something. "What do you mean with that you don't care what they say about you?" he asked, taking a step closer, halting when Harry tensed up. "Harry, what did they say about you?"

He really didn't want to confess. It was bad enough to inform Draco about the way his parents had treated his sons, but to continue and speak about what they had said about him? Harry didn't know how he would react and that worried him.

Harry nearly jumped three feet in the air when strong arms surrounded him and tugged him against a warm chest.

"Please, Harry, tell me what they said about you," Draco whispered.

Hidden in his embrace, not having to look up and watch how Draco's face would change, made it somehow easier to confess and before Harry realised fully what he was doing, he started pouring his heart out: telling the blond how he had been insulted from the first day he had officially met Lucius and Narcissa; how he had been taunted for years; how they had insulted his parenting skills; the times they had blocked his messages for Draco when he tried to reach him; the times when they had reminded him that his usefulness would expire soon and that he would soon be dumped and forgotten …

By the time he trailed off, his throat hurt from talking so much and his shoulders heaved with the sobs he was trying to supress while his hands busied themselves with trying to wipe away his tears.

Silence fell over them and the sky had darkened to a dark red by the time Draco stirred and led Harry to sit on the couch.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this sooner?" Draco whispered and his own hand reached out to wipe the tears off of Harry's cheek.

Harry dropped his hands on his laps and let out a sigh. "I thought you would think I was lying about it. I know how much you value family and I was afraid you would … you would leave me," he ended in a small voice.

"Yes, I do value family a lot," Draco spoke almost absentmindedly and his hand shift from Harry's cheek to his neck, letting a thumb caress his pulse. "That's exactly why you should have told me sooner. I didn't know that they treated you like that – fuck, I should have known about it! If I had actually paid attention, then maybe it wouldn't have become this bad."

"It's not your fault, Draco," Harry protested and looked at him incredulously. "It was my decision to not talk to you about it and …"

"Harry, we've been married for more than ten years – I should have noticed something was wrong much sooner!" Draco shook his head and looked frustrated. "If you had said something to me earlier, I would have set them straight. They can't get away with treating you like that, just because they are my parents!"

Harry opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the sound of an incoming Floo call.

"Harry, are you home?" Hermione called out.

Draco gave him a soft kiss on his lips. "Go talk with Granger," he muttered and stood up.

"Wait, where are you going?" Harry asked worriedly and stood up as well.

"Don't worry; I'll be back soon. I'm just stepping outside for a bit," his husband reassured him and left quietly.

* * *

Harry was preparing dinner when Draco finally came home. He heard the front door open and footsteps coming towards him. He was putting slices of cheese on the hamburgers that were sizzling in the pan – Cain had asked whether they could have hamburgers as dinner and Harry hadn't been able to say no, resulting in him making a salad and chips as well – when arms snaked around his waist and cold hands slipped underneath his sweater.

A cold nose buried itself against his neck and he couldn't supress the shiver at the cold sensation in both his neck and on his stomach.

"What did Granger want to talk about?" Draco asked and started to caress Harry's sides lightly.

"She asked whether we minded that the gathering tomorrow at Molly's would start later, because apparently Hugo caught a fever and they need to let the potions run their course, before they can bring him with them," Harry replied and dropped the last slice of cheese on the hamburger.

Draco hummed, but didn't say anything.

Harry turned around to face him, sliding his hands around his neck. "Where did you go to? You're home late," he murmured.

"I went to my parents," Draco answered to his complete surprise and shock. "I told them that I knew the truth now and that I wouldn't consider them my parents anymore until they accepted the fact that I chose you and that I'm not planning on letting you go, no matter how many Pureblood twats they introduce me to at their parties."

Harry couldn't stop his mouth from dropping open in complete shock. "But Draco, are you sure about this? I mean, they are your parents, so …"

He was cut off by a deep kiss.

"Harry, you and our sons are the most important people in my life now," Draco murmured and brushed another kiss on his nose. "Even my parents don't have the right to hurt and humiliate you like that. If they can't see that they are missing out on a wonderful son-in-law and amazing grandchildren, then it's their loss. As long as they don't change their attitude, they are no longer welcome here and they won't need to expect us to visit them. If they decide to change their attitude, then well, we'll see what we'll do then. Now they need to realise that they can't get away with hurting either you or our sons."

Relief coursed through him and Harry was reminded of one of the reasons he had fallen for the blond: his will to do the right thing, his desire to protect the ones he loved.

"Thank you," Harry whispered and brought his head up to kiss his husband.

Draco's lips curved up into a smile and he returned the kiss.

Whether Harry would ever be able to forgive Lucius and Narcissa was a question he could not answer yet. For now he would concentrate on his family and career and live his life without his in-laws looming over him.


End file.
